1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to a method of and system for enabling and managing sub-contracting entities. More particularly, and by way of example, the present invention relates to electronically facilitating various aspects of sub-contracting entity (SCE) utilization relative to project work, including, but not limited to, SCE enablement, a project bid process, a requisition process, a spend process, and a performance-management process.
2. History of Related Art
It is a common business practice among services/goods providers, and particularly among primary suppliers of goods or services, within a project-work sector to utilize a second tier, and even subsequent lower-tiers, of supply-chain providers. These second tier and lower-tier providers are referred to as sub-contracting entities (SCEs). An SCE is any provider of goods and/or services that provides the goods and/or services with the consent of, and in conjunction with, a primary supplier of goods and/or services to a buyer. The SCEs are used to deliver, in part or in whole, project-work deliverables requested by end users or buyers. Use of the SCEs as described above may be made by an authorized supplier for various reasons, such as, for example, expansion of services/goods delivery capability, provision of goods/services to buyers when the primary supplier cannot logistically or technologically meet demand requirements, and reduction of primary supplier costs when the goods/services can be provided by an SCE at a more competitive cost.
Regardless of the underlying reasons that the SCEs are used, use of the SCEs is common within the project-work sector. In many instances, suppliers that utilize the SCEs in a sub-contracting activity do so in a manner that makes use by the suppliers of the SCEs virtually invisible to the buyer. Although use of the SCEs tends to provide the buyer with required project-work deliverable/outputs, the relatively-hidden nature of sub-contracting activities tends to cause at least one of the following to occur: 1) increased potential liability risks; 2) removal of control of SCE management from the buyer; 3) hiding of SCE costing/pricing data; 4) hiding of primary-supplier marginal additions to SCE costs/prices; 5) hindering the buyer from measuring SCE performance; 6) hindering the buyer from measuring performance associated with goods/services directly provided by primary suppliers; 7) reducing activity and data-processing auditing capabilities; and 8) hindering the ability of the buyer to efficiently manage the project-work commodity and take advantage of business opportunities that would be presented if the SCE activity were more visible and managed.